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It is acknowledged that various types of thematic maps emphasize different aspects of mapped phenomena and thus support different map users’ tasks. To provide empirical evidence, a user study with 366 participants was carried out comparing three map types showing the same input data. The aim of the study is to compare the effect of using choropleth, graduated symbols, and isoline maps to solve basic map user tasks. Three metrics were examined: two performance metrics (answer accuracy and time) and one subjective metric (difficulty). The results showed that the performance metrics differed between the analyzed map types, and better performances were recorded using the choropleth map. It was also proven that map users find the most commonly applied type of the map, choropleth map, as the easiest. In addition, the subjective metric matched the performance metrics. We conclude with the statement that the choropleth map can be a sufficient solution for solving various tasks. However, it should be remembered that making this type of map correctly may seem easy, but it is not. Moreover, we believe that the richness of thematic cartography should not be abandoned, and work should not be limited to one favorable map type only.

The National Geomatics Atlas is the first volume of the new century edition of the National Huge Atlas of the People's Republic of China, and is one of the important achievements of this research and development project. The National Geomatics Atlas consists of four thematic map groups and one place name index, such as the sequence map group, the political terrain map group, the land cover map group and the city map group. The research object of this paper is the thematic maps, which are mainly distributed in the sequence map group, the land cover map group and the city map group. This paper is aimed at the design and compilation of thematic maps, including a brief introduction of thematic maps selection, layout design, thematic map technical process, and thematic symbol design.

Thematic map analysis is a complex and challenging task that might result in map user failure for many reasons. In the study reported here, we wanted to search for differences between successful and unsuccessful map users, focusing—unlike many similar studies—on strategies applied by users who give incorrect answers. In the eye-tracking study, followed by a questionnaire survey, we collected data from 39 participants. The eye-tracking data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively to compare participants’ strategies from various perspectives. Unlike the results of some other studies, it turned out that unsuccessful participants show some similarities that are consistent across most analyzed tasks. The main issues that characterize bad solvers relate to improper use of the thematic legend, the inability to focus on relevant map layout elements, as well as on adequate map content. Moreover, they differed in the general problem-solving approach used as they, for example, tended to choose fast, less cautious, strategies. Based on the collected results, we developed tips that could help prevent unsuccessful participants ending with an incorrect answer and therefore be beneficial in map use education.

In the era of information and communication technology (ICT), the advancement of science and technology has led to a trend of diversification in map representation. However, the lack of professional knowledge means that there is still a challenge in determining the appropriate type of thematic map for land use expression. To address this issue, this paper proposes a knowledge recommendation method for land use thematic maps based on the theory of visualization dimensions. Firstly, we establish a knowledge ontology of land use thematic maps centered on spatial data, data characteristics, visualization dimensions, thematic map forms, and application scenarios. A land use thematic map knowledge graph is constructed through knowledge extraction and storage operations. Secondly, knowledge embedding is performed on the knowledge graph to enable the knowledge-based expression of map visualization elements. Finally, based on the knowledge elements of land use thematic expression, a similarity calculation model is established to calculate the similarity between input data and the spatial data characteristics, visualization dimensions, and application scenarios within the knowledge graph, deriving a comprehensive similarity result to achieve precise recommendation for land use thematic map forms. The results show that the method can provide a more accurate visualization reference for the selection of land use themes, meeting the diversified needs of land use thematic expression to a certain extent.

Groundwater is a crucial natural resource in the state of Florida. since it supports to environmental, social, and economic aspects of the country. Groundwater will not be contaminated easily but it is difficult to restore once it is contaminated. Since its extensive usage in agricultural activities in the state of Florida, groundwater has degraded in recent years, resulting in many direct and indirect impacts, particularly nitrogen content in the form of nitrates using Geographical Information System (GIS) technology, the researchers investigated the effects of groundwater on Nitrogen (NO3) content in the study area by creating a spatial distribution of NO3 contamination, which was then analyzed using GIS, Kriging Interpolation, and the DRASTIC model to determine the susceptibility of groundwater to NO3 contamination. The final result depicts the model’s performance as vulnerability groups, which are based on natural breaks showing places that are more susceptible to nitrogen pollution. The map highlighted that the south zone of Florida was more vulnerable to nitrogen contamination, necessitating more careful wastewater disposal system planning.

Traditionally, chorochromatic maps with a qualitative measurement level are used for land use presentations. Along with the use of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), it became possible to register dynamic phenomena in a small space. We analyze the application of qualitative and quantitative mapping methods to visualize land use in a dynamic context thanks to cyclically obtained UAV imaging. The aim of the research is to produce thematic maps showing the actual land use of the small area urbanized by pedestrians. The research was based on low-level aerial imagery that recorded the movement of pedestrians in the research area. Additionally, based on the observation of pedestrian movement, researchers pointed out the areas of land that pedestrians used incorrectly. For this purpose, the author will present his own concept of the point-to-polygon transformation of pedestrians’ representation. The research was an opportunity to demonstrate suitable mapping techniques to effectively convey the information on land use by pedestrians. The results allowed the authors of this article to draw conclusions on the choice of suitable mapping techniques during the process of thematic land use map design and to specify further areas for research.

This study was conducted to determine the groundwater potential zone by using the Geographical Information System (GIS) method in Sungai Seguntor, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia, and its surroundings. The study area consists of the Sandakan Formation, the Volcanic Breccia and the Quaternary Alluvium. The ArcGIS 10.5 and Global Mapper software were used in this study. Eight thematic maps have been produced: lithological map, rainfall map, drainage density map, lineament density map, soil type map, landuse map, elevation map and slope steepness map. GIS methods were used during the spatial analysis stage. All the thematic maps are weighted based on their emphasis on the existence of groundwater. During the map integration stage, the Raster Calculator is used based on the Eigen Vector of each parameter. The final map produced shows that almost 30% of the study area has high groundwater potential, most of which is in lowland alluvium areas with relatively high drainage density. This final map also shows significant results with tube well data obtained from the Department of Minerals and Geosciences, Sabah, Malaysia.

Technological progress in recent decades has made it possible to develop the process of documentation and visualization of cultural heritage objects. Despite numerous studies dealing with the documentation of cultural heritage objects, no standardized research methodology has yet been developed in this field. The interest of many specialists from different fields carrying out different work related to the documentation of cultural heritage objects has resulted in a large amount of data, which causes problems in its processing and visualization. As a rule, researchers focus on one method of data collection and, consequently, on one type of data visualization. The documentation of cultural heritage is very important. Therefore, the authors of this article have aimed to develop a methodological data collection process for the documentation and visualization of information about cultural heritage objects. This is particularly important in light of the development of new methods of measuring and inventorying cultural heritage objects, such as laser scanning or low-level aerial photogrammetry. The authors recognize the need to systematize the methodology of collecting and processing data on cultural heritage objects. In addition, it is critical to develop a methodology for visualizing the acquired data using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology. One of the most important assumptions of the article is to have universally understandable information about the object. The type of documentation and visualization of information developed in the article will be an interactive thematic map (using Leaflet.js and Three.js). Such a map will allow to collect and visualize all kinds of data, from attribute data to 3D models.

In order to conserve the ecosystems and biodiversity of wetland areas, it is necessary to monitor the degradation of these areas. Currently, Al Razzazah lake and its surrounding areas have degradation significantly due to its low water level, which has negatively affected its biodiversity. Hence, this   research aims to propose a method to model the monitoring of spatio-temporal changes in that lake and its surrounding areas with an area estimated at 4660 km² between (1998 – 2018) using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. After conducting the supervised classification by the method of Support Vector Machine (SVM) for all satellite images, we extracted thematic maps, which contain five classes. The results showed the overall accuracy was 90.11%, 91.60% and 90.57% while the Kappa coefficient were 0.8764, 0.8950 and 0.8821 for 1998, 2008 and 2018 respectively. Results showed that the lake area decreased by 86.21% in the study area in 2018.

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sensors and platforms nowadays are being used in almost every application (e.g., agriculture, forestry, and mining) that needs observed information from the top or oblique views. While they intend to be a general remote sensing (RS) tool, the relevant RS data processing and analysis methods are still largely ad-hoc to applications. Although the obvious advantages of UAV data are their high spatial resolution and flexibility in acquisition and sensor integration, there is in general a lack of systematic analysis on how these characteristics alter solutions for typical RS tasks such as land-cover classification, change detection, and thematic mapping. For instance, the ultra-high-resolution data (less than 10 cm of Ground Sampling Distance (GSD)) bring more unwanted classes of objects (e.g., pedestrian and cars) in land-cover classification; the often available 3D data generated from photogrammetric images call for more advanced techniques for geometric and spectral analysis. In this paper, we perform a critical review on RS tasks that involve UAV data and their derived products as their main sources including raw perspective images, digital surface models, and orthophotos. In particular, we focus on solutions that address the “new” aspects of the UAV data including (1) ultra-high resolution; (2) availability of coherent geometric and spectral data; and (3) capability of simultaneously using multi-sensor data for fusion. Based on these solutions, we provide a brief summary of existing examples of UAV-based RS in agricultural, environmental, urban, and hazards assessment applications, etc., and by discussing their practical potentials, we share our views in their future research directions and draw conclusive remarks.